With so many cool things to do in Istanbul it is hard to choose how to spend your days in this amazing city. Of course I want you to check out the Old City and see the magnificent Blue Mosque, get lost in the bustling streets, and go shopping in the Grand Bazaar. Or what about Taksim or the Galata Tower and then you have not even been to the Asian side. There are so many Istanbul tourist attractions, but those you will all find in your guidebook. Let me tell you 3 unique things to do in Istanbul.

The last two times I visited Istanbul I chose to stay in Besiktas, a very lively neighborhood on the Bosporus. Running around in the narrow streets of this area you don’t feel like you are in a big city. There are supermarkets, little shops, bakeries, restaurants and a dozen teahouses and coffee shops. I was there both times in winter and still people were sitting outside under the heaters sipping their tea as if it was normal, but the temperature was below zero and I was freezing my ass off!

Looking for some cool adventure in Istanbul? I found out where to go to enjoy an amazing sunset over Istanbul. A place that you for sure wont find in your guidebook. Somewhere on the rooftops of an old deserted shopping mall you will find one of the best views over the city.

If you have done all the Istanbul sightseeing and still have some spare days in your agenda then you should consider taking one of the day trips from Istanbul to Edirne and pay a visit to the impressive Edirne Mosque called Selimiye. Nowadays a sleepy little town full of history, but once the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Edirne, Turkey lies only a few kilometers from the Bulgarian and the Greek border. I admit it was pretty tempting to make a little detour and cross into these two countries, as I had never been to any of them. But as we were toured around by the Turkish Tourism Board it would have been a little inappropriate to leave the country. ;) Surely some day I will end up there again!

Istanbul is such a huge city and you can easily spend a couple days here doing all the standard touristy stuff and become a 'Touristanbul'! It is not hard to find something about visiting the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque or the Grand Bazaar, but what if you are after an Istanbul off the beaten track adventure? If you’re the kind of tourist who likes to get to get away from the crowds, then a walking tour around Fener-Balat is your best bid!

Just like a lot of travel bloggers I get the most crazy emails and request from random people and businesses from around the world suggesting that I am going to spend time and money in growing their new business or helping them becoming a successful travel blogger. Sorry but that is not the way it works, so I cant help you grow your Instagram account nor am I going to find you costumers for your travel agencies or will I promote your new app for free.

Curious how many miles I traveled? How many countries I have been? And how my 2017 flight schedule looked like? In this blog I am recapping all my trips of 2017 and I collected some cool statistics about my travels. Plus some insight in my travel plans for 2018.

As a big fan of the internet there is no way I can go without being connected so as soon as I arrive in another country I check out the cell phone providers to see what they can offer me. Most of the times I buy a local sim card as roaming costs are outrageous, so as I arrived at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul I straight away checked out what they could offer me when I asked for a Turkey tourist sim card. If you are not a fan of getting a new number every time then try Teppy!

What to do in a capital so big with even more inhabitants than my own country? Where to start and what for sure not to miss? I have been in Istanbul for a couple days now and obviously did the most common sight seeing things. If you would be here only a couple days then I would suggest to take a hop-on-hop-off bus to see it all in one day or at least as much as possible and call yourself a touristanbul! LOL But again: I’m travelling, I’m not on a holiday and therefore I like to get to off the Istanbul off the beaten path destinations.

After a long an unexpected epic weekend in Cologne I finally made my way to Istanbul. Finally, cause it was not really my plan to stay in Germany that long. I left home Friday morning and said goodbye to mom and dad and ended up in Cologne. It was the weekend of El Clasico and since I am a huge Barca aficionado it was a weekend to remember.